Of Crowns and Ribbons
by Indigo Jupiter
Summary: A collection of LxMisa drabbles in AU situations. Theme A: Bar AU


**I don't own death note :')**

* * *

 **Chapter 01  
** **Bar AU:** **A strange customer**

As soon the clock would struck at eight, customers would come pouring in and latched themselves to bar like flies on candies. Sitting on tall chairs and rapping their knuckles on the polished surface of wooden table, they would place their orders. Misa Amane would smile while pouring a drink on the cocktail shaker before snapping the lid shut and shaking the container fast so that all the contents inside are mixed thoroughly. She would know what each person would ask for; a zingy margarita or vodka on rocks or the ever notorious shots of tequila. Memorizing orders was nothing for her.

In addition to smooth service, there were her social skills that would bring the place almost to a full house. Misa knew how to lively up the atmosphere. She would tell stories. To think she would run out of them, she never does. She would crack a joke or two, which would send people into fits of laughter.  
But what made Misa their favorite bartender was; she listened. She would listen to their daily live routines, their gossips and their troubles. People would put their words on the table and she would collect them, stroking them gently before finally returning the favor by offering them her own words of wisdom. She would even hug a few of them if someone was down on the dumps, comforting them with her warmth and the soothing aroma of strawberries she always carries. The best part out of this was, Misa never judged. Though that might probably be due to her excellent acting skills, but in truth, Misa never really made a fuss out of it. What would she gain from asserting people in categories inside her mind? People are always coming and going. They never stay.

Misa was concerned with one and one thing only and it was, people shouldn't leave the pub unhappy. Customers came here for a good time and she darn made sure they have it; For life was short and they simply can't afford being petty, period.

But today, Misa felt finicky. And she had a very good reason as to why. For with the usual set of clients, came an unusual one as well, one she had never seen before. He must be tall, but couldn't tell because his back appeared to be hunched, misleading his height greatly. Was he suffering from spinal problems? Though that didn't bother her much as his clothes did. His choice of wardrobe was making her skin crawl; plain white t-shirt, old baggy jeans and a pair of worn out sneakers. How old was he? Five?! No, even kids have enough sense what to wear. This was scandalous. And she was pretty much sure that number of combs were likely to break when used on his hair. They were so unruly and messy.

The golden haired girl was wiping glasses with a dishcloth when the strange customer stepped inside the pub. For a while, he did nothing, just standing there on a spot,gazing at the polished surroundings. Misa paused the wiping and observed him. 'Has the gypsy lost his way?' was the first thought that ran inside her mind before admonishing herself. How dare she judge him before even serving him?! It was so unfair! Beside gypsies aren't this pale. Even if they exist, she has yet to see one.  
What the individual did next, nearly made her lose her grip on the glass. The strange man climbed on a bar stool, bringing his legs up and placing them on a cushioned leather, before finally propping himself into a sitting position. He didn't look any less like a monkey or a frog, when he sat like that.

Just who was he?! Misa questioned herself. So deep in thoughts she was that she didn't hear her name being called.  
"Misa chan? Misa? Misa?!"  
"What?!"

Misa looked up and saw Akira, a middle aged woman putting some change on a table.  
"You should get yourself a drink too dear, you seem lost" the elder client chuckled.  
"Pardon me, Mrs. Tak. Misa Misa didn't mean to ignore you!"  
"It's okay dear. I was going home anyway. Take careful of yourself, good night"  
"Good night Mrs. Tak, please come again"

After collecting tips, Misa made her way towards the odd patron. Odd or not, she still have to complete her shift.

"Good evening sir!" Misa greeted politely "What shall Misa Misa get for you?"

The hunched man looked up and she finally saw his eyes. They were round and heavily ringed with dark circles, but that didn't struck her. It was the gaze that stopped her. If void have eyes, this man's one would be it. They were dark and seem to be harboring so much depth that there was really no end to it.

"A glass of martini or a Jagger bomb" Misa continued, reaching for a tumbler and a bottle "Or you prefer something stronger?"

The man didn't say anything for a while. He kept staring at her, which irked her.

Maybe she was leaning too much on the eyes business. Given the way he was looking at her now, from top to bottom, no way in hell they were carrying that intensity. If anything, they were bordering along the lines of creepiness.

"Sir?"  
"Ryuzaki"

Aye? Was that his name? Must be.

"Okay, Mr. Ryuzaki, what will be it?"  
"Desserts"  
"Pardon?"  
"Judging from the place, both inside and out and looking at the utensils, kept at the shelf above which are used for serving sweets, it's safe to presume that desserts are available here. So I want a dessert" he finished, deadpanned, a finger resting on his bottom lip.

What the hell?

"Okay, what would you have for dessert then? We have ice-creams, brownies, tarts and even ensaimada"

A smile came across Ryuzaki's pale lips as Misa rattled out the orders. It was confirmed now: this man was a pervert!

'What's with that smile anyway?' the girl frowned 'It's like he's getting off on orders!'

"I will take everything, thank you"  
"Misa Misa will be right back!"

Misa did the task quickly as she can. She wanted to get rid of this person named Ryuzaki. In 3 years of bartending, she had never come across a customer this depraved.  
Maybe Misa Misa is being too fussy, the girl thought while digging out cookie mania flavored ice-cream from the tub with the help of scoop. Her mother always told her that one must always look for the person they are from inside, not from outside appearances. Maybe this Ryuzaki must be nice from inside.

Once done with the plating, Misa carefully balanced the dishes on her arms and made her way towards him. Ryuzaki eyes followed her movements of her hands as she kept the desserts, one by one, a creepy smile coming on his face again. Misa wished he could blink for once. It would make him look more human.

"Misa Misa hopes you enjoy your treat, Mr. Ryuzaki"  
"I sure will, thank you Miss Amane"  
"You are welcome"

This has to be the first time, but Amane inwardly wished that he never comes here again, like ever. She has never thought of such a thing for any customer. Ryuzaki was the first one to become the primary example of this.

'Misa Misa can't be the only one. Considering his demeanor, everyone must have wished for it too'

* * *

Misa opened the fridge door and rummaged in its compartments until she found what she was looking for. Grabbing the thing, she closed the door and made her way towards the bar. But before she could climb the stairs, she heard someone calling.

"Misa?"

The said girl stopped in her tracks and turned halfway. Naomi Misora, the bar manager was standing there, holding a register of records.  
Misa gulped and hid the thing behind her. She should have known better. It wasn't going to work. One way or another, she was going to find out.

"What are you carrying?" she asked calmly.

Misa just stood there. After a minute or two, did she slowly brought her arm forward, fingers tightly wrapped around the Hersheys syrup bottle.

A silence; then.

"Didn't you took this bottle just two days before?"  
"Misa did"  
"And?"  
"It got finished"  
"It what?!"

Naomi's mouth hung open in a shock for a second, before she regained herself.  
"The bottle is supposed to last a week, Misa san. Surely….."  
"Misa knows that!" Misa cut in "Misa is aware of company's stock policies…"  
"And?"  
"Unfortunately Misa Misa can't help herself out of this situation" Misa hung her head, defeated "I am so sorry Naomi san"

Naomi didn't say anything. She opened the register she was holding and peered at it. Without looking up, she said;  
"With sales rocketing higher than usually anticipated, I don't see why you should feel sorry, Misa san"

The golden haired girl looked up and found her superior was smiling. Misa let out a sigh of relief. Her manager was so kind. She couldn't have asked for any better boss.

"Thank you so much for understanding, Naomi san" Amane gushed gratefully.  
"You are welcome. Though this patron of yours is making me curious. You did tell me his name once. Ryuzaki it was, wasn't it?"  
Misa nodded.

"So who is this Ryuzaki? Can you tell me something about him aside from having an immense addiction for Hersheys" Naomi asked, eyeing the bottle in her employee's hands.

"That's the thing, Misa Misa doesn't know"  
"I beg your pardon?"

"He's….." Misa was tongue-tied. To begin with, Ryuzaki was really difficult to describe. Sure she could use words like 'Bizarre' or 'Weird', but they just weren't enough. If only she was bookish, perhaps she might have been able to explain him better.  
And that wasn't the only problem. What to pinpoint? His appearance? His mannerisms? His fondness for the chocolate syrup or the vibe he welled of? It was really hard to put a finger to any of it.  
This was just the exterior. She still has yet to interact properly with him (Taking orders doesn't count).

This, Misa admitted was her fault. If only she could get over his façade and talk with him, maybe she might be able to decipher him somehow. Not in that moment, but over the time. It's a possibility.

"If Ryuzaki was an animal, he would have been raccoon" Misa answered. It didn't sound that stupid in her mind then it did now.

Naomi shared a similar opinion because she awkwardly close the register and politely wave her off.  
"I see. Well I shall let you get back to work, Misa san"  
"Yes Naomi san"

And with that, Misa went back towards the bar room.

Stupid it was, but it was also the truth. Raccoons did have the black fur around their eyes. Ryuzaki have black circles under his eyes. Raccoons like eating sweets. Misa doesn't remember but she's sure she has read about it somewhere. Ryuzaki devours sweets.

So what's the difference? It did made sense, period.

* * *

 **After one week.**

Misa was readying herself. While rehearsing the lines inside her mind, every now and then she would occasionally glance at Ryuzaki, who was sitting at the far end of the table, slurping on tonight's special; strawberry smoothie.

Tonight was the night she was going to talk to him. Properly this time; no order or nothing. Misa has made it her business to get to know each customer, personality wise since day one. Some might call this invading one's privacy. But Misa was able to do this subtly by dropping an opening sentence like 'Blue is so your color! You should wear it more' or 'A perfect way to end your perfect day is by treating yourself with chardonnay!' one was never able to recognize it. Whatever works, people did end up telling about themselves, their job, their friends, their likes and dislikes to her. It was a simple affair, one that Misa would never get tired of.

'Okay, this is it! No turning back'

Misa looked down,smoothing away any invisible creases of the white apron she was wearing on a black bar uniform, with her hands.

She never got the chance because at that moment, she heard a voice. A voice which made the hairs on her neck stand up and the marrow of her bones to run cold.

Oh-no, please don't tell me. Misa turned and saw the last person she wanted to attend; Kyosuke Higuchi.

"Good evening Mr. Higuchi!" Misa greeted brightly, while at the same time, picturing him standing on a bed of hot coals.  
"Why hello Misa!" Higuchi drawled "Allow me to say this, but you look ravishing tonight"  
"Thank you, Misa Misa is so glad you think so" Misa replied back, stomping the shudder sneaking up on her.

If there was someone in Misa's life who she clearly despised, it was Kyosuke Higuchi. Higuichi was one of the tycoons rigging up the business world. Born with fortune and meant to make fortune, he was an owner of dozen companies, including the very famous 'The Yotsuba Industries'.  
If only etiquettes were available on market, all that heritance could be used in buying it because Higuichi was in dire need of it. The man was despicable! He would keep hitting on Misa by passing lecherous comments to her, offering to take her for a ride. And while he sat there, he would continuously stare at Misa as if she was serving naked. Misa complained about this to Naomi, who in turn put the request forward to the authorities; asking them to issue the right to refuse to serve him.

It didn't work because Kyosuke was a rich man and the company most certainly can't afford losing one of its valuable customers, no matter how vile they were. The real world sucked.

"The usual?" Misa asked unenthusiastically, opening the cabinet behind her to retrieve the flute from it.  
"If it comes along with you, then yes" He stated, winking at her.

'I wish clawing eyes out was legal'

Pouring the drink, she kept it in front of him. What happened next happened so fast. One minute her eyes were on the surroundings, the next she was staring at a set of tiny black pupils.  
'He's even more ugly this up close' Misa thought, before the situation sank on her. Both of her hands were trapped in his claw like hands, automatically deterring her from making any further movements.

"Just what do you think you are doing, Mr. Higuichi?" Misa asked, laughing nervously in an attempt to shake him off. It was futile.  
"You look _really_ ravishing tonight, Miss Amane" He whispered hotly, his breathe washing all over her face.  
"Thanks again" she responded, smiling weakly. She peeked sideways and saw people averting their gazes away from the scene. She couldn't blame them for not stepping in. Kyosuke was terrifying.

"Sir, Please let go of my hands, I need to attend to other customers"  
"They can survive"  
"Excuse me?"

Misa let out a gasp when she was yanked forward more. She can now see his skin pores.

"How about you become my server, like forever?" he proposed, grinning at her wickedly.  
"Please let go of my hands" Misa mumbled, uncomfortably.  
"Not until you say yes"

What is with this guy?! Misa screamed inwardly. She then realized with horror that Higuichi was leaning towards her lips.

'He's harassing me! Someone please help me, for God's sake!'

Her unsaid prayers were answered when Higuichi paused, turning his head towards whatever that stopped him from kissing.  
Misa let out a sigh of relief. How long has she been holding her breathe?

She then focused her attention and found Ryuzaki standing nearby, nibbling on his thumb.

"What do you want?" Higuichi asked, irritated at being interrupted.  
"Oh nothing really" Ryuzaki answered, unruffled "Just letting you know you should stop"  
"What?!"  
"Miss Amane asked you to let go of her, loud and clear. Therefore you should respect her wishes by heeding that request"  
"And what if I don't?" Higuichi snickered "Going to stop me?"  
"If the situation calls for it, then yes" Ryuzaki said.  
"I will give you a situation!" Higuichi growled, plainly pissed off now. He released his grip on Misa, making her stumble. Her hands were aching from a tight grasp but she didn't care, because she was worried for Ryuzaki.

"Ryuzaki watch out!" She yelled in concern as she saw Higuichi throwing his fist, its aim going towards Ryuzaki's face. Ryuzaki avoided it just in time. Higuichi lunged again, but before he could land a punch, he was flung backwards with sheer force.

Misa's mouth hung open in astonishment as she saw Ryuzaki straightened up. She just saw him kick at the chin of Higuichi, by standing on his hands, shooting his somewhat elongated limb in an upward direction.

'Such brute strength!'

"Misa! Misa are you okay?!" Naomi called out, concern flitting across her face as she rushed towards the distressed girl.

In seconds, the police arrived and the commotion got settled. After verifying from the witnesses and the victim, Higuichi was taken under custody.

Misa was drinking tea which was made by the owner of the bar. He apologized profusely for what happened and that he should have listened to them right then and there when they asked him to ban Kyosuke from coming into bar, long ago.  
Naomi shook her head in disapproval about their lateness while Misa tuned him out.

Misa looked around once more, hoping to catch the sight of an raccoon-eyed man lurking amidst the crowd. He wasn't there.

'Tomorrow…..Misa Misa will thank him tomorrow'

* * *

Ryuzaki was looking at the menu kept in front of him, deciding what to eat when someone kept a three tier silver stand right on the card, blocking away the names and prices of desserts. Ryuzaki didn't object because he was busy looking at the lower plate which was carrying macaroons of every imaginable color; tan, brown, yellow, orange, lilac and pink. On the second plate, assortments of cupcakes complete with frosting were arranged. And right on the top, a dozen mini eclairs were perched along with few choc tarts and a handful of bonbons.  
Ryuzaki mouth began to water. Has a slice of heaven descended on the earth itself?! This was perfect!

"This one is on me" A voice floated above, effectively interrupting his musings.

Ryuzaki titled his head slightly and found Misa standing behind the bar. His black rimmed eyes widened.

While twirling one of her pigtails with her finger, she spoke;  
"Misa Misa wanted to thank you for saving her the other night. No one…..stepped in, except for you"  
She added "Please consider it as a token of appreciation from me to you"  
"Oh"

This was far from being a token. The stand had the best of everything!

Misa stepped forward, reaching out her hand. Ryuzaki stared at it.  
"My name is Misa Amane. But you can call me Misa"

There was silence for a moment. And then;  
Ryuzaki returned the handshake, not with one but two. He didn't shake. Rather he cradled her soft ones in his rough ones, holding it between them. Misa found this gesture slightly odd and a bit endearing as well.

"My name is Ryuzaki" he told in a pleasant voice of his.

Misa smiled, blushing.

"Hello Ryuzaki! It's so nice to meet you!"

That holding of hands in a time to come, become a start of something beautiful and unpredictable.

 **The end**

* * *

 **Author note:**  
 **Hello :D As the summary says, It's all about L and Misa, but in AU situations! pretty simple, right? I have sketched out a rough list of them in various scenarios :3**

 **Do let me know what do you think about this idea and whether should i continue this or not?**

 **~Noni.**

 **P.S. that holding of hands was indeed inspired from the scene of the death note second live action movie. Have you guys seen it?**


End file.
